2 charged in Bucktown bank robbery

By William Lee | Tribune reporterMay 20, 2011

Federal authorities today charged two Chicago men accused of stealing more than $15,000 from a Bucktown neighborhood bank in a daylight holdup this week.

The men, Demetrius Patterson and Quinton Vaughn, along with a juvenile were apprehended by Chicago police officers just minutes after the Thursday morning robbery at a FirstMerit Bank branch, 2130 W. North Ave.

The juvenile, a 17-year-old boy, was later found to not have been involved in the bank robbery, police said.

Patterson, 42, and Vaughn, 20, each were charged with bank robbery and possession of a firearm, according to a criminal complaint released by the FBI's Chicago office. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole this afternoon ordered both men held without bail until their next court appearance, which was scheduled for Tuesday.

After the robbers entered the bank at about 11 a.m., Vaughn went to the back of the bank asking for the manager, while Patterson vaulted over the teller's counter, displaying a handgun and demanding cash, authorities said.

“No dye packs,” Patterson demanded of the tellers, referring to the device resembling bank notes that explodes brightly-colored ink on bank robbers and their stolen cash, the complaint said.

After stealing about $15,506 cash, the robbers fled the bank on foot, but were spotted by several police officers in the area and were arrested after a short foot chase.

While an eyewitness told authorities that the teen was at bank during the robbery and appeared to have been involved, police detectives determined that the boy had stolen a laptop computer from a nearby pawn shop prior to the bank robbery and fled to the area where the two suspects were picked up by police, police spokesman Officer John Mirabelli said.

Police recovered the laptop the teen had hidden beneath his vest.

The teen was later charged as a juvenile with retail theft and obstructing his identification, a misdemeanor, Mirabelli said.

Eyewitnesses identified Patterson and Vaughn as the bank robbers, officials said. In addition to the cash, authorities recovered a .380-caliber pistol containing seven rounds, latex gloves, a BB gun and several clothing items matching clothing that the robbers wore.